Chapter 26- A Little Detour

Drake sat up and looked around. All he could see was brown. And it was very warm; the air was thick with heat and humidity.

Strange, he thought. There isn't any brown at the Academy… and why is it so hot in here? Did something go wrong? Where is everyone?

"Drake." A voice whispered in his ear. Drake jumped and spun around as fast as he could. Matt had crawled up behind him. "Something went wrong. There are no volcanoes on the Duel Academy Island."

"Volcano?!?" Drake said. "We're sitting in a volcano?"

"Yes, now chill out. We need to get out of here. The others came out a little farther over there." Matt got to his feet and began to walk. Drake hopped up and followed him. The others were lying unconscious on the ground a few yards away. Matt knelt down next to Flynn and shook him awake. Drake moved over toward Julie and began to shake her. She sat bolt upright as soon as he touched and aimed her rifle at his head.

"Oh, it's you." She looked around. "Where are we, and what is with that red light coming from over there?"

"We're in a volcano." Drake said.

"WHAT?!?"

"Keep your voice down, I'm right next to you!" Drake said, rubbing his ears. "I need those to hear."

"We're sitting in a volcano! What if it erupts?"

"It won't." Matt said. He had woken everyone else. "I can feel that this volcano won't erupt for some time now."

"How…?"

"Don't ask. I've never understood it myself."

"But that really doesn't matter." Keith pointed out. "We're trapped in here, and if we can't get out, we'll either die from hunger or from all of this ash getting in our lungs."

"Keith's right." Helen said. "I don't see a way out."

"Yes…except through the top." Flynn said, looking up. "But the walls are pretty tall and they slant inwards; it would be incredibly difficult for anyone to climb all that way…"

"Yes, you're right." Matt said. "There are no easy ways out, so we'll have to create one."

"What do you mean? Go through the wall?" Keith said. He knocked on the rock wall next to him. "I don't think we can. It feels extremely thick."

Matt placed his hand on the wall. "It's very thick. Hmm…" He stepped away from the wall. "Get away. I'm going to try something." Everyone ran away from the wall, behind Matt. Matt stretched his arms out in front of him, palms out toward the wall. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the wall. Blue energy streams started seeping out of his arms. Sweat beaded on his forehead. The streams began to move about, reaching, as if they were searching for something. They stretched out, further and further, until they stopped abruptly. Matt was groaning.

"Come on… please, just once more… I've lost my touch…tch… come on, once more…" And with what seemed to be an incredible amount of effort, the streams began to reach again. They passed over Drake's head and dove into the pool of lava that was just behind them. The blue streams swam around on top of the lava for a while, then dove deeper in. The blue streams re-emerged and flew at the wall Matt was focused on. Then, seconds later, the lava followed the streams and began to beat on the wall. Sweat was pouring off of Matt's face. The lava continued to beat on the wall and eventually the rock simply melted away. After a few minutes the lava had completely melted through the wall. It ran back along the blue streams and back into the hole it had come from. Matt, apparently exhausted, fell face down on the ground.

"Matt!" Julie said, and ran to his side. Drake wasn't so concerned, but he followed the others to Matt. Slowly and with a great deal of help from Julie, Matt rolled over and sat up. He looked incredibly weak, Drake didn't think he had ever seen him in such bad condition, apart from seeing him chained to a wall and bleeding last year.

"What was that?" Flynn asked. Matt wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to stand up. With some help from Julie (and a little extra from Keith) he got to his feet.

"When you go in to become a ninja, they attempt to determine your elemental affinity to determine what to train you in. I was fire, by far. I had this great natural ability to manipulate fire, even early in my career. I could form it out of the molecules in the air and move it about with great ability. Now, at the end, it's hard for me. I can barely do it with a ready source, I can't do it at all if I have no fire. Told you I've gotten a lot weaker."

"Save your energy." Julie said. "You're shaking."

"We need to get going…" Matt said, and tried to walk towards the hole he had created. He fell over after only a few feet.

"Stop moving!" Julie said. "You're exhausted. You need to rest."

"Can't afford to…" Matt said, standing up unsteadily. "We need to get out of here… it's not safe." He began to walk forward. Everyone followed him out into the light.

A light breeze was blowing outside. The sky was clear and the weather was warm and pleasant. They were standing on a beach that spread out to either side and curved around the base of the volcano. The water in front of them was crystal clear.

"Where is this?" Julie said.

"It's beautiful…" Helen said.

"Hmm…I've been here before…" Matt said. "Once before… when was it? Almost three years ago."

"Where are we?" Flynn said.

"This is Hawaii, I think." Matt said. "I don't know which island, but it's somewhere in Hawaii."

"How'd we get here?" Drake asked. "Should we have come out through the gate we entered in?"

"Usually, yes… but it seems that the mastermind is manipulating the gates, and sending us to different places. I wouldn't trust using those gates anymore."

"Why did we trust them in the first place?" Keith asked.

"Because we had no choice." Flynn said.

"True."

"Hey, you fools!"

Drake spun around. Four fiends, standing side-by-side, were facing them. "What do you idiots want?" Drake said.

"What else but to take your souls!" said one of them. "So… just for a change of pace, let's do this duel four-on-four! We'll be choosing which of you will lose first! One at a time, brothers!"

"Fine!" said a second fiend. "You, boy in red- you're mine!"

"You, woman! You shall duel!" said a third.

"You, little girl! You will fight as well!" said the fourth.

"And finally, you, big guy with the gold jacket, your mine!" said the first.

Drake, Helen, Julie, and Flynn stepped forward. "We'll destroy you." Flynn said.

"Yeah, you're no match for us." Julie said.

"We'll see about that!" said the first fiend.

"Let's duel!"

Drake: 4000

Julie: 4000

Flynn: 4000

Helen: 4000

First Fiend: 4000

Second Fiend: 4000

Third Fiend: 4000

Fourth Fiend: 4000

This is huge, Drake thought. This could be treacherous. If someone gets weak, they'll be in for a whole heap of trouble.

"And now, to explain the rules!" The first fiend said. "No one is allowed to share monsters, defend their partners, or discuss strategy. Any of this will result in the immediate death of the offender, as well as the loss of the person they tried to help! Also, there is absolutely no attacking on the first turn."

Damn it, Drake thought. I'll bet they plan on picking off Julie, no matter what happens to them! We're going to have to work hard.

"Are you done?" Flynn said.

"Yes."

"Then I'll start this duel." Flynn drew a card. "Hmm… not particularly good. I'll set a monster and end my turn."

"Is that all you've got?" said the first fiend. He drew a card. "Ha! You life grows short already! I'm going to set a monster in defense mode with an extra card facedown! That is all!"

"I'll go next!" Helen said. She drew a card "Hmm… I set a monster in defense mode and a card facedown! That will be all."

"Then it's to me!" said the second fiend. He drew a card. "I'll also set a monster, and end my turn!"

"Then it's my turn!" Drake said. He drew a card "I'll set a monster too, with two more facedowns! That will be all."

"Then it's my turn!" said the third fiend. He drew a card and smiled evilly. "Yes… this will do. I will set a monster in defense mode, and add a facedown card! That will be all for now."

"Then I'll round out our turns!" Julie said. She drew and smiled. "I play Dark World Lightning! Now, I'll destroy the third fiend's facedown monster with it!"

"Ha, you fool!" the fiend said. "That was my Sand Moth, and when it's destroyed while facedown by your card effect, I get to special summon it, in attack mode, with its attack and defense reversed! So say hello! (Earth/Rock/Effect, 2000/1000)"

"Grr… now by Lightning's effect I get to discard one card from my hand!"

"You act like that's a privilege!" said the second fiend.

Julie smiled. "Well for me it is, since the card I'll be discarding is Sillva, Warlord of Dark World."

"Oh no!"

"Yes, and now I can special summon him! (Dark/Fiend/Effect, 2300/1400) Now, I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"And now I'll end this round." Said the fourth fiend. He drew a card. "Hmm… let's see here. I think I'll set a monster in defense mode, that's all."

"When he ends his turn, I'll use my trap card!" said the third fiend. "Rock Bombardment! Now, by sending one Rock-type monster from my deck to my graveyard, I can inflict 500 points of damage to one player! So, I think I'll send a Giant Soldier of Stone from my deck to the graveyard, and I'll do 500 damage to you, little missy!"

Drake: 4000

Julie: 3500

Flynn: 4000

Helen: 4000

First Fiend: 4000

Second Fiend: 4000

Third Fiend: 4000

Fourth Fiend: 4000

Julie screamed. Drake's face twisted into a snarl. I knew it! They're going to try and take her out! And if that caused her as much pain as it sounded like, there's something else going on here…

"Hehehe…" said the first fiend. "So you are the first to experience our Shadow Game!"

"What is it this time?" Flynn said.

"Hehehehe… the game this time will affect something extremely important to your survival… your hearts! Whenever you lose life points, a restraining force placed on your heart will begin to tighten and make it more difficult for your heart to beat!"

"You animals…" Helen said. "That's disgusting!"

"You don't know that half of it." Drake told her. "These guys take pleasure in thinking up horrible tortures to use in Shadow Games. Julie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just surprised." She said. She had paled just a little bit.

"Enough talk!" said the second fiend.

"Yes! Gold fool, take your turn!" said the third.

"Fine then!" Flynn drew a card. "Let's see how you like your own game turned on you! I summon the Lord of Dragons (Dark/Spellcaster/Effect, 1200/1100)! And with him on the field, I can activate my Flute of Summoning Dragon! Now, I'll use it to call forth a Luster Dragon (Wind/Dragon, 1900/1600) and a Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Light/Dragon, 3000/2500)! Next, I'll flip summon my facedown Luster Dragon! Now, Luster Dragon, attack the fourth fiend's facedown monster!"

"Ha! That was my Penguin Soldier! Because he was flipped, I'm now allowed to return up to two monsters on the field to the owner's hand!"

"Too bad that won't save you."

"What?"

"You can't target my dragons with it!"

"Curses… I'll choose to target both of the little girl's monsters then!"

Damn it! Drake thought. If they do that, she won't be able to defend herself for a long time! We'll need to mow down monsters at a high speed so she doesn't get dropped like my first hour French class! The same thought seemed to have occurred to Julie because she looked rather panicked.

"What am I going to do?" she asked Drake.

"Hold it! You can't discuss that." The first fiend said.

"Damn it…" Drake hissed.

"Chill out Drake." Flynn said. "We can take one of them down right now. An I'm going to hope that your facedown cards will help?"

Drake nodded a little, so little that it was impossible to see. He was pretty sure this was illegal, according to the rules of the duel. Flynn turned his attention back to the duel.

"Okay, number four maggot, time to take a little trip." He said. "Blue-Eyes and Lord of D., obliterate the fourth fiend!"

Drake: 4000

Julie: 3500

Flynn: 4000

Helen: 4000

First Fiend: 4000

Second Fiend: 4000

Third Fiend: 4000

Fourth Fiend: 0

"Yeah Flynn!" Keith said. "They're up!"

"In points, yes… but not in poise." Matt said. "The fiends seem unaffected by their own game, but if they lose a single point… it's not good."

"Good point…"

"Now, Luster Dragon, destroy the first fiend's monster!"

"I use my trap card, Backfire! Now, whenever you destroy a fire-attribute monster on my side of the field, you lose 500 points! And the monster you just attacked was… The Thing in the Crater!"

Drake: 4000

Julie: 3500

Flynn: 3500

Helen: 4000

First Fiend: 4000

Second Fiend: 4000

Third Fiend: 4000

"Grr…ngh…" Flynn clutched at his heart. "That's not cool."

"And what's even worse is that now I can special summon any Pyro-Type monster from my hand! So, I'll bring out my Flame Cerberus (Fire/Pyro, 2100/1800) in attack mode! Are you done yet, you fool?"

"Yes, unfortunately I am."

"Ha! One of your number will not survive this round!" The Pyro fiend drew a card. "Just what I wanted! I remove The Thing in the Crater from my Graveyard to Special Summon Inferno (Fire/Pyro/Effect, 1100/1900) in attack mode!"

"Why would you want such a weak monster in attack mode?" Drake asked.

"You'll soon find out! Now I summon Blazing Inpachi (Fire/Pyro, 1850/0) in attack mode! And to round it off, I'll activate my Molten Destruction Field Spell!" All of a sudden, the volcano behind them erupted.

"I thought you said that that volcano wasn't going to erupt!" Keith said.

"It wasn't going to! It's the Shadow Game, it's causing the volcano to alter the field!" Matt said. Lava started leaking across the duel field.

"Now that we're in this lovely environment, all Fire-Attribute monsters gain 500 attack points and lose 400 defense points! So now my Cerberus has 2600, my Inpachi has 2350, and my Inferno has 1600! And that will be more than enough to kill someone! Finally, I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy one of the red guy's facedown cards!"

"Damn it…" Drake said. That was the one I needed!

"Now, Flame Cerberus, attack Sillva!"

Drake: 4000

Julie: 3200

Flynn: 3500

Helen: 4000

First Fiend: 4000

Second Fiend: 4000

Third Fiend: 4000

Julie had a little coughing fit and spat out a small amount of blood. Her face was losing color. "Now, Inferno, attack her facedown monster!" The Inferno's flames melted through Julie's monster.

"Good thing it was in defense…" she wheezed. "And it was Scarr, Scout of Dark World, who allows me to add a level four or lower Dark World monster to my hand. I'll take out Bron, the Mad King."

"It doesn't matter! For when Inferno destroys a monster, the controller loses 1500 life points!"

"NO!" Drake said. That's too many! Flames leapt up around Julie. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and the screaming began. It finally stopped, with Julie on her hands and knees, still smoking from the fire, coughing up blood at a ridiculous rate.

Drake: 4000

Julie: 1700

Flynn: 3500

Helen: 4000

First Fiend: 4000

Second Fiend: 4000

Third Fiend: 4000

"I'm not done yet! Blazing Inpachi, finish off this weakling!"

Drake: 4000

Julie: 0

Flynn: 3500

Helen: 4000

First Fiend: 4000

Second Fiend: 4000

Third Fiend: 4000

Julie began to scream so loud that Drake thought he would not hear anything ever again for the rest of his life. And then slowly, slowly, she fell to the ground and lay immobile, quiet. She was dead.